A wide variety of storage compartments are provided in the modern motor vehicle to allow storage of personal items. Dash-mounted storage compartments such as glove compartments are highly desired by the consumer, to allow easy and convenient access to such stored items. However, storage space in the modern motor vehicle is at a premium, and only a finite amount of space can be devoted to dash-mounted storage compartments in order to accommodate other necessary and desired components typically included in the modern motor vehicle dashboard.
Conventional vehicle glove compartments typically include a front-mounted hinged closure which swings outwardly into the passenger compartment to allow access to items stored in the compartment. However, particularly in smaller vehicles this glove compartment closure design undesirably impacts passenger legroom, and indeed it may be difficult or inconvenient to open such a conventional glove compartment closure when a passenger is occupying the vehicle seat positioned in front of the glove compartment. Still more, for certain vehicle styles it may not be necessary or desirable to provide a traditional glove box. Instead, the user may prefer a sleek, uninterrupted dash panel design necessitating an alternative design of storage.
To solve this and other problems, the present disclosure relates to a vehicle dash panel storage compartment configured to provide desired storage capacity. Advantageously, the described dash panel storage compartment includes a top-mounted closure panel that does not encroach on the passenger compartment when a vehicle occupant places items into or retrieves items from the compartment.